Life Undefeated

Ecc 10: 13 Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions,
 so their conclusions will be wicked madness;
 14 they chatter on and on.  No one really knows what is going to happen;
 no one can predict the future…

Ecc 11:1 Send your grain across the seas,
 and in time, profits will flow back to you.[b]
2 But divide your investments among many places,[c]
 for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.  3 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.
 Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. 4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.
 If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb,[d] so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. 6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.

Solomon, the wisest man of all time, admitted that the future is impossible to predict.  This is certainly evidenced in business as we watch the market go up 3 points and down 2 points in the same day or as we see technology propel business one moment and then destroy it the next.  In Ecclesiastes 10 and 11, Solomon teaches us three valuable lessons on how the wise should deal with such an unpredictable future.

First, it is important to diversify your investments.  This familiar advice has been heard my many but applied by few.  Sadly, the present generation has more likely drawn against their current assets for their own personal enjoyment rather than diversify, expand, or broaden their portfolio.  Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 11:2 “divide your investments”.  This practical counsel written over 2500 years before the stock markets and modern economy existed is timeless advice that must be applied today.

Second, you must maximize every moment.   Solomon teaches that those who wait for the “right timing” will miss the opportunity. A farmer who waits for the perfect temperature, ground conditions, and rain before planting the seed will miss the entire season.  Likewise, a business owner who waits for everything to be “perfect” before beginning a project will miss the opportunity.  If you are a paranoid business leader, you will always see “clouds” in the sky and wait for the “economic conditions” to improve before you take action.  Wise business leaders will carefully assess the situation on a project but will not be paralyzed by fear.

Finally, you must be ready and willing to change.  Avoid becoming irrelevant, one dimensional, or too narrowly focused.  Be ready to expand services and products as consumer needs change.  Solomon says in verse 6 that no one knows where future profits may come from so if conditions change you must be able to adapt.

It is true that you cannot predict the future.  However, you can plan for it by applying these three principles from Solomon.  Diversify your efforts, maximize every opportunity, and be ready for change.  Trust in the Lord and He will give you strength and wisdom to embrace the unpredictable future!

Ecclesiastes 10:7 Don’t long for the good old days, this is not wise.

As a Christian business leader you must determine to learn from the past, work in the present, and plan for the future.  It is tragic that many Christian business leaders waste time complaining about ‘today’ as they longingly look back at the past remembering it as “the good old days”.

There are three problems with this type of thinking.  First, if complainers were able to teleport back in time to the “good old days” they would find that it was not as good as they remembered.  They would find themselves doing the same complaining and longing for better days.

Second, complainers miss the opportunity of today because they are waiting for the past to recreate itself.  It is important to remember that GOD created today and He expects us to make the most out of every opportunity.  He created this moment of time and He created you specifically for it!

The final problem is that dwelling on the past sacrifices the future.  A wise person will learn from the past, capitalize on the present and plan for the future.  Don’t waste time longing for the past.   Make the most out of today and plan for tomorrow!   Embrace the challenges of the present and make today “the good old days.”

One of the most depressing books of the Bible is Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, the wealthiest and most powerful leader of his time.  Solomon had literally everything he could ever desire.  He started as a humble man who wanted desperately to care for GOD’s people.  He sacrificed to The LORD and sincerely asked for wisdom to lead GOD’s people.  GOD blessed him with wisdom, but also with wealth, power, respect, authority, conquest, victory, entertainment, property, possessions, health, and even children.  However, as Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes, his life eventually becomes meaningless.  Many successful business leaders experience this same type of emptiness today.  In comparison, Paul, writes in 2 Corinthians that he has less than nothing and lives a life filled with suffering for CHRIST, yet he is filled with joy and purpose.  The difference between Solomon and Paul is that Solomon neglected the original calling on his life for the pursuit of pleasure and Paul remained true to his original calling.

Solomon and Paul both served GOD and both had been given a great amount of responsibility.  They both had been called to lead God’s people.  Solomon had the job of caring for GOD’s chosen nation and Paul had the responsibility of evangelizing the civilized world.   The difference is that Solomon began to focus on the blessings provided by GOD to fulfill his life rather than the GOD of the blessings.  Solomon, much like many successful Christian business leaders today, began to pursue pleasure as his purpose and he neglected the original calling on his life.

Paul had extreme success in all that he did as well.  Paul could have become one of the most powerful men of his time, yet Paul chose to stick to his purpose of evangelizing the civilized world.  Paul stays focused on The LORD and serving HIS people rather than becoming distracted by the power and blessings he could receive.  Paul explains that he has less than nothing and is persecuted beyond that which we could understand, yet Paul’s life was filled with joy and purpose.  This joy and purpose is the result of Paul never losing focus on the original calling of his life.

As a Christian business leader, learn from the lessons of Solomon and Paul and maintain the original calling on your life.  Never get distracted or confused and replace the calling on your life for the pursuit of pleasure.

The story of Jonah teaches us about procrastination and attitude.  As leaders, we are often faced with tough decisions and many times we need to do things we would prefer not to do.  Make it easy on yourself and learn from the story of Jonah.

Jonah knew what he needed to do but he didn’t want to do it.  He kept putting it off and as a result he endangered his own life as well as those around him.    Don’t be like Jonah!  When you know what you need to do, make it a priority and get it done.  As leaders, we have a responsibility to ourselves and others.  When we procrastinate, or refuse to do what we ought to do, it causes problems for ourselves and for our whole team.

Another lesson we can learn from Jonah is the importance of having the right attitude. When Jonah finally agreed to follow God’s command, he did it with a bad attitude and ended up hating it.  This is all too common with business leaders today.  When you have an unpleasant task to do, you can choose to do it with a bad attitude or you can decide to do it with a great attitude.  A bad attitude will breed depression and suck the joy from your life.  A great attitude makes even an unpleasant task bearable.

As Christian business leaders, we can not allow ourselves to be like Jonah.  We must do what we are called to do, right away, without procrastinating, and with a great attitude!  In doing so we please God and bring blessings to ourselves, our business, and our employees.

Proverbs 25:4  Remove the impurities from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.

Pastor Caesar Castellanos, pastor of  the 2nd largest church in the world, was once asked the question “what is one thing you would change about your life?”.  Pastor Castellanos’ answer was simple yet profound.  He said that he would only have done that which he ‘should’ do, not all that he ‘could’ do.  As a Christian business leader, anything outside of what you “should do” is an impurity (distraction) to the unique calling on your life.

You see, as a Christian Business Leader, opportunity lies around every corner.  This week I had 4 different meetings each with amazing opportunities.   But every new opportunity also has a cost.  In this case, the cost was time.  If I had chosen to pursue each of these endeavors I would have been distracted from my true calling.   As Ps. Castellanos pointed out, opportunity is everywhere, but you must use godly discernment to determine which things you “should do” versus all that you “could do”.

Proverbs 25:4 talks about removing “impurities” and distractions and creating pure silver that is ready for the silversmith.  As a Christian Business Leader, you must analyze your life and remove the impurities and distractions.  You have a unique calling on your life.  Don’t get distracted by every opportunity that presents itself.  Instead, focus on what God has called YOU to do so that you will be ready to fulfill your destiny.